To My Brethren in Positions of Responsibility in the Cause of God:
What is our work?—The same as that given to John the Baptist, of whom we read, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
All who are truly engaged in the work of the Lord for these last days will have a decided message to bear. Read the first few verses of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah:—
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. And the voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.”
This chapter is filled with instruction appropriate for us at this time. The word of the Lord to us is, “Repent ye; prepare the way for a revival of my work.”
The removal to Washington of work hitherto carried on in Battle Creek is a step in the right direction. We are to continue to press into the regions beyond, where the people are in spiritual darkness. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.” Every obstacle to the redemption of God’s people is to be removed by the opening of his Word, and the presentation of a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” The true light is to shine forth; for darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. The truth of the living God is to appear in contrast with error. Proclaim the glad tidings: We have a Saviour who has given his life that those who believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Obstacles to the advancement of the work of God will appear; but fear not. To the omnipotence of the King of kings, our covenant-keeping God unites the gentleness and care of a tender shepherd. Nothing can stand in his way. His power is absolute, and it is the pledge of the sure fulfilment of his promises to his people. He can remove all obstructions to the advancement of his work. He has means for the removal of every difficulty, that those who serve him and respect the means he employs, shall be delivered. His goodness and love are infinite, and his covenant is unalterable.
The plans of the enemies of his work may seem to be firm and well established, but he can overthrow the strongest of these plans, and in his own time and way he will do this, when he sees that our faith has been sufficiently tested, and that we are drawing near to him and making him our counselor.
In the darkest days, when appearances seem so forbidding, fear not. Have faith in God. He is working out his will, doing all things well in behalf of his people. The strength of those who love and serve him will be renewed day by day. His understanding will be placed at their service, that they may not err in the carrying out of his purposes.
There is to be no despondency in God’s service. Our faith is to endure the pressure brought to bear upon it. God is able and willing to bestow upon his servants all the strength they need. He will more than fulfil the highest expectations of those who put their trust in him. He will give them the wisdom which their varied necessities demand.
Said the tried apostle Paul: “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
O my brethren, hold the beginning of your confidence firm unto the end. The light of God’s truth is not to be dimmed. It is to shine amid the darkness of error that enshrouds our world. The Word of God is to be opened to those in the high places of the earth, as well as to the more lowly.
The church of Christ is God’s agency for the proclamation of truth; she is empowered by him to do a special work; and if she is loyal to God, obedient to all his commandments, there will dwell within her the excellence of divine power. If she will honor the Lord God of Israel, there is no power that can stand against her. If she will be true to her allegiance, the forces of the enemy will be no more able to overpower her than is the chaff to resist the whirlwind.
There is before the church the dawn of a bright, glorious day, if she will put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness, withdrawing from all alliance with the world.
The members of the church need now to confess their backslidings, and press together. My brethren, allow nothing to come in that will separate you from one another or from God. Talk not of differences of opinion, but unite in the love of the truth as it is in Jesus. Come before God, and plead the shed blood of the Saviour as a reason why you should receive help in the warfare against evil. You will not plead in vain. As you draw near to God, with heartfelt contrition, and in full assurance of faith, the enemy who seeks to destroy you will be overcome.
Turn to the Lord, ye prisoners of hope. Seek strength from God, the living God. Show an unwavering, humble faith in his power and his willingness to save. From Christ is flowing the living stream of salvation. He is the fountain of life and the source of all power. When in faith we take hold of his strength, he will change, wonderfully change, the most hopeless, discouraging outlook. He will do this for the glory of his own name.
God calls upon his faithful ones, who believe in him, to talk courage to those who are unbelieving and hopeless. May the Lord help us to help one another, and to prove him by living faith.
“Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.”
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: to show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery: upon the harp with a solemn sound, for thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.”
“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”
“O sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day.8Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
Why They Failed
By G. B. Thompson
G. B. THOMPSON
Soon after the fall of Jericho, Joshua decided to capture Ai, a small town a few miles distant. Having taken the great, walled city of Jericho, it seemed an easy matter to capture Ai. A force sufficiently large to take the village was sent against it, but they were utterly routed, and a number of them slain.
As Joshua and the elders of Israel saw God’s people fleeing before their enemies, they fell upon their faces in agony before the Lord. They rent their clothes, and put dust upon their heads in humiliation of heart before God. Why had this defeat befallen them? Why must they flee before their enemies? The reason was given, “Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have even put it among their own stuff.” Joshua 7:11, R. V. Here was the secret of their weakness plainly revealed. God had said that the first fruits of Canaan were his. “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when ye have devoted it, ye take of the devoted thing; so should ye make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
How plain and clear was this command of the Lord. The silver and gold, brass and iron, were holy, and belonged in his treasury. Who dared to transgress this decree of the Lord?—O, Achan did. He saw a certain goodly garment and a wedge of gold, coveted them, took them, and hid them among his stuff in his tent. Not a single person in all the camp saw the deed. Only one man! Surely one transgression of one man among so many would make no difference! But it did. Israel was weakened, and must flee before their enemies, and nearly twoscore of Achan’s brethren lost their lives because of his transgression. A sinner in the church is an awful thing. “For one man’s sin, the displeasure of God will rest upon his church till the transgression is searched out and put away.”—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 497.
But this is history. How is it to-day? Is not the church of God weak, and compelled at times to flee before the terrible tide of sin and iniquity? Is she not hopelessly weak, and unable to cope with the vast work to be done? Churches everywhere are weak. They do about all the missionary work they are able to do, it seems. Many have no strength, and are not able to do much. The church can hardly be said to be as “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Have you wondered why? Here is the answer:—
“I saw that many who profess to be keeping the commandments of God are appropriating to their own use the means which the Lord has entrusted to them, and which should come into his treasury. They rob God in tithes and in offerings. They dissemble, and withhold from him to their own hurt. They bring leanness and poverty upon themselves, and darkness upon the church, because of their covetousness, their dissemblings, and their robbing God in tithes and in offerings. I saw that many souls will sink in darkness because of their covetousness. The plain, straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon his people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. III, page 269.
The same thing which brought darkness and weakness upon the church anciently is practised to-day. Achan took something that was holy, devoted to the Lord, belonged in his treasury, and put it among his own stuff. The spirit of prophecy, as quoted above, tells us that many to-day have among their own stuff that which belongs to God in tithes and offerings, and as a result they are spiritually lean, and the church is shrouded in darkness. It is covetousness which leads individuals to withhold their tithe, which is holy, and belongs in the treasury of the Lord. This sin is making the army of the living God weak. Shall we not, brethren and sisters, search among our stuff and see if we have any of God’s holy money there? Shall we not make a thorough investigation now? Remember Achan.
Evidences of a Call to the Ministry, or Bible Work
By A. E. Place
A. E. PLACE
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples.” “As my Father hath sent me, so send I you.”
The Son of God was about to leave the earth, to take a seat at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. We may imagine him standing erect on that mountain top in Galilee, looking over the plain, the sea, and away toward old Jerusalem. How many scenes of his life in the flesh passed before his mind, especially those of the last three and one-half years! Perhaps he traces hastily that life from the manger to the tomb— the baptismal anointing at Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness; the days of toil with the multitudes; the nights of prayer in the mountains; the bearing of our griefs and sorrows, “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and learning obedience by the things which he suffered. Day by day his faithfulness in trial was increasing his strength and his power from on high. A mighty warfare had been fought, and a glorious victory won, and to-day, with his feet still on the rugged mountains of earth, with a few representatives of his noble work around him, we imagine a thrill passes through his very being with the consciousness that his work has been such a success that his Father can entrust him with all the power of the Godhead, not to use for self, but still for the salvation of fallen humanity, and turning to his beloved disciples, with whom and for whom he labored, he cries, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples.” We can but exclaim, What a wonderful Saviour! No wonder the beloved John should write of him, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.”
His success did not come as the result of any one great act, but the secret was in his victories daily. Of him in his childhood it is written, “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” Of his later life we read that he “went about doing good, . . . for God was with him.” This is an object lesson for the ministry of to-day.
In a most wonderful school of experience Christ had been teaching and fitting men to walk in his steps and carry on his earthly mission of love; and as in the days of the kings the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha, so Christ desired that his mantle of true unselfishness, or righteousness, might fall upon his followers, and that they might go forth into all the world to make disciples of all nations.
No human mind can ever overestimate the value of that three and one-half years in the school of Christ—that daily personal contact with the world’s Redeemer. The look of his eye, the gentleness of his voice, the tenderness in the touch of his hand as he removed physical infirmities, saying, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,”—all these experiences, from Jordan’s baptismal waters to that night in the upper room, when “he breathed on them,” yea, even to that moment when, standing with him on the mount, they heard him say, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” were of great value to those men of Galilee. Their importance was not realized by the disciples up to that time as it was destined to be afterward.
A critical moment is reached, when the personal association of days gone by must be broken. The Lord is about to ascend to his work in the heavenly temple. The disciples are to go forth bearing the same ministry of reconciliation to the world, which he had borne from his Father. How important and9valuable the disciplinary drill in association with the Great Teacher. This would seem to be sufficient, but no, the final instruction to them is, “Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” This is worthy of our most careful and prayerful thought. As Christ, after thirty years in the home, in the field, and in the carpenter shop, received the anointing of the Holy Ghost before entering the wilderness of temptation and the path to final sacrifice on the cross, so before his disciples can successfully enter the same path in his name, they must have the same unction. They must to-day follow in his steps, sit at his feet, and know his life, by sharing his burden for a lost world, not as a theory, but as a divine fact, by the enlightenment of the Holy Ghost.
Back there the disciples “tarried” according to his word. They were “with one accord” in prayer and supplication, in the study of the Word, the study of the life of the One who had walked before them, and as a result they received the promised blessing, and then, as shown by the beloved disciple on Patmos, they “went forth conquering, and to conquer.”
That same Jesus still lives. His commission has not passed away. The same conditions are necessary now as then for the success of the ministry, and the work of God in all its departments. This life is for us; the promise is to us, and all who will accept the terms are called to service.
The call is to “go.” It indicates the unceasing activity of the Christ life. It is a divine command from him who holds in his possession all the power in heaven and in earth. He therefore has the right to command, and is able to meet all the contingencies in carrying the request into fulfilled action. To doubt this would be to deny the call, and he who doubts it therefore has no call.
“Go ye.” I would impress the fact that the commission, or call, is to those who had followed him, in daily experience, over sea and land; who had sat at his feet to receive his lessons of divine truth,—disciples who knew him, and his power to heal the sick, to loose the prisoners, and to forgive sins,—the “Christ, the Son of the living God.” Such were called to “go.” Such are called to-day. Few sense the sacred and awful responsibility of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
So surely as cause produces effect, and effect follows cause, so surely the individual who studies carefully and prayerfully the life and spirit of Jesus Christ till he can go forth as Christ went forth, is called, and he may be assured that divine power will attend him. He will doubtless suffer reproach. So did Christ. He may wear a crown of thorns, and be crucified; but he will surely open blind eyes, turn many from darkness to light, and in the resurrection, like his Master, he will “come forth with the tread of a conqueror” to a seat in glory.
No man has a right in the ministry who does not study and pattern after the life of Christ. He who does not do this, and do it daily, is not in the ministry; for the ministry is the ministry of Christ. “Ministry” signifies service. It does not mean simply working for. It does not mean simply that we do what he says. It does not mean simply that we minister to Christ or serve Christ, but it means that we serve Christ to the world. The world is starving. Christ is the bread of life. The minister is called to serve Christ, the bread of life, to dying humanity. No change has ever been made in the true ministry of Christ. It means to-day, “Christ in you,” in me, “the hope of glory,”—Christ in the flesh, touched with the feelings of man’s infirmities, ministering to man’s necessities. Do you, do I, feel sensibly the weight of this truth in the soul? Then we are called of God to minister the same to others; we are ministers of Jesus Christ. Such a man does not need to wait for a conference to stimulate him with tithes from the treasury before he shows evidence of a burden for souls. That man need not look to a pulpit as his platform of action, or to a foreign field as the only place where he can labor. Let him give proof of his call by a Christlike ministry in his home, in the homes of his neighbors, in the Sabbath-school, in the prayer-meeting. Let him labor for souls where he is; let him see results, and both he and the conference will know that he is called of God to the work of Christ. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.”
Let no one step hastily or carelessly into the path moistened with the tears and blood of a divine life. No one is called to “go” who has not followed Christ as portrayed in the Word. No one is called to go, or has the right to go, who has not by faith so associated himself with that life that its molding influence has changed his own, so that when he goes, he can represent Christ, and not himself, to the world. We are to be witnesses unto him. What a sad thing to misrepresent or witness against him who died for us!
“All power.” It is necessary for us to note that the “all power” was given to Christ as a result of a wise and proper use of the power given day by day. The all power can not be entrusted to us till we have given evidence in our lives that we would use it wisely. There are doubtless many to-day who are crying to God for the power of the Holy Ghost, who might far better cry for a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Can God give us his power while we are judging, criticizing, one another, and nursing jealousies in our hearts?—No, his power is given to testify of deliverance from these evils, and to witness to the deliverance in the life.
“Go ye therefore and make disciples [“teach all nations”].” Success is in the call of God. It is not a call to talk, but a call to make disciples, to bring souls to the cross of Christ, and to the kingdom. Christ bases the logical and just conclusion upon the broad and solid platform of his completed life in the flesh. We are to expect success. We are to expect souls won to God, and we should be alarmed for ourselves if we “go” and do not feed and save souls.
What shall we teach?—The living Word of God. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Go teach that which you have received of me. I have taught you “the way, the truth, and the life.” “The way.” It is narrow, crucifying the true disciple to the sins of the world. It is ever on the incline, never on the decline, each step raising the traveler to a higher plane and a clearer vision. “The truth.” The truth is the sanctifier of the obedient soul. “Thy word is truth.” Teach the word with voice, pen, and life. “The life.” Life is the soul of all teaching,—life in Christ,—the life of Christ,—the gospel,—“the power of God unto salvation.” Teach the life that is able to save men who will believe,—the life which brings light into darkened homes, leads men dead in trespasses and sins out of the grave of despair into the peace and joy of believing. Such life teaches. He who has it and lives it is a great teacher. He must teach. He is called of God to teach, and sent by him to teach. He can trust him to go into any nation, and by the power of his Holy Spirit establish the work of his hands. “And they that be wise [teachers] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” O blessed, happy man who enters this ministry!
He who can give a faithful witness in Jerusalem (his own home), in Judea (his own neighborhood), in Samaria (his enemies, from whom he shrinks perhaps most of all), has God-given credentials for any field in the world, and he can go with the assurance that many stars will be found in his crown of rejoicing in that day when the witnessing is over.
In conclusion, permit me to refer once more to the command, “Go.” This might indicate to some that the Master is sending his disciples from him into an untried field and alone. But not so. No, “never alone.” His comforting assurance to the faithful minister is, “I will not leave thee.” “My presence shall go with thee.” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Let all the people say, Amen. May the Lord in mercy teach us daily what it means to be called to his ministry.
Living for God
“BLESSED are they who die for God,
And earn the martyr’s crown of
light;
Yet he who lives for God may be
A greater conqueror in his sight.”
Be Glad Today
“Be glad to-day, to-morrow may bring
tears;
Be brave to-day, the darkest night
will pass,
And golden rays will usher in the
dawn;
Who conquers now shall rule the coming years.”
Shall We Put Off the Curse of War?
By Daniel T. Bourdeau
D. T. BOURDEAU
WE as a people believe that by earnest and scriptural prayer to the God of heaven the general winds of war and strife may be kept from blowing on the earth, or on the sea, or on the trees till the servants of God are sealed, or made sure as his property, so that they will be prepared for any emergency. Rev. 7: 1-3. In this scripture the havoc and calamities of war and strife on land and on sea are referred to. When these become general, woe to the beautiful trees, the trees of service, where war rages! These will be felled and brought into requisition to make bulwarks and other means of defense against invading armies. I well remember passing through the streets of Paris not long after the Franco-Prussian war. Beautiful trees had been felled by the French, while others bore the sure signs that they had been marred or ruined by fire; all of which was the deplorable result of fearful contests between mighty armies.
Now, as surely as there will be limits to God's forbearance, beyond which general war can be postponed no longer, just so surely, before those limits are reached, God can suffer war to come which he could and would repress were his people faithful in praying scripturally that war may be postponed for God's people to be sealed; for all can readily see that it is far easier to carry on the work of God on the earth in time of peace than in time of war, when so many exciting things come up to turn away the thoughts of men, women, youth, and children from the things of God.
But will simply praying, without laboring to answer our prayers, without laboring for the salvation of others, keep back war, preparations for which are now going on on a scale eclipsing everything of the kind that has ever been seen in our world?—Nay, verily; there must be associated with our prayers earnest efforts that will agree with the object for which we pray. We must labor for the salvation of our fellow beings as we have never labored for it before. Then shall God in mercy repress the tide and curse of war, strife, bloodshed, and confusion. We must now earnestly, zealously engage in the converting work of Elijah (Mal. 4:5); otherwise God shall disturb us from our indifference and slumbers of carnal security, and from our sinful inactivity, by suffering the curse of war to smite the earth. Compare verse 6 with Zech. 5: 1-4, where a flying roll is declared to mean a “curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it [and there are plenty that steal nowadays, even from God]; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.” According to the words of Jesus and of James, there is a fearful amount of swearing done under the cloak of religion. Matt. 5: 33-37; James 5: 12. And the prophet continues: “I will bring it [the curse symbolized by the flying roll] forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.” Zech. 5: 3, 4.
Here is destruction that comes through war, persecution, and calamities, and answers to the curse mentioned in Mal. 4: 5, 6. Of the curse mentioned in this passage, we are to understand that it will come prematurely if we do not engage in a work answering to that of Elijah, as we should in view of “the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” And the opposite is true; the curse will be deferred if we faithfully do the work here pointed out. Now this can not refer to the seven last plagues; for these will come the sooner for our hastening to do the work the Lord has assigned us. That curse can not be averted; it will surely come upon the wicked of this generation.
How precious is this time of peace in which to do the work that God in mercy has laid upon us to perform! Shall we improve it in doing this work? or shall we worse than squander it in laying up treasures upon earth for strife and war to scatter to the winds in the near future? Shall we, through criminal indifference and hiding our talents in the earth, make it more difficult for the messengers of the cross to do their work. Shall we thus bring upon us war, persecution, and other calamities, which God could and would keep back a little longer if we were faithful and earnest in doing the work that he enjoins us to perform speedily?
In ancient times God often brought war, persecution, and even financial losses upon his people to humble them, because, instead of being lights to those around them, they became bodies of darkness and a miserable example unto them by their departures from God. And why should he not use the same measures now to humble his favored people because of their unfaithfulness to the great light that shines on their pathway?
Is there not indeed with many professing to believe that the great day of God's wrath is about to come upon the world at large as a thief, a danger of giving a lie to their profession, by planning and acting as if the terrible day of the Lord were a great way off? Is there not with some more than a tendency to be allured by earth's treasures and vain, transitory, and sinful pleasures, simply because they have lost sight of the eternal riches, and do not enjoy the lasting and substantial pleasures growing out of being in harmony with God?
And are there not others among us who suffer petty trials to alienate them from their brethren and from their God, just because self is not dead? Will such have to learn in time of war what they should have learned in time of peace? One writer has thus well expressed the truth on this point: “There was war, bloodshed, want, privation, famine, and pestilence in the land; and as these things were without, God's people began to press together, and cast aside their little difficulties. Self-dignity no longer controlled them. Deep humility took its place. Suffering, perplexity, and privation caused reason to resume its throne, and the passionate and unreasonable man became sane, and acted with discretion and wisdom.” —“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VII.
How much better and easier to learn this and other lessons in time of peace, than to have the dread realities of war and other calamities teach them to us! It is our privilege and duty to have so much of the grace and power resulting from obeying the truths for these times, that war and persecution shall be held in check by the Spirit and angels of God, while we shall hasten to do the work that God has assigned us. May this be our experience, that God may be glorified, and that the work in which we are engaged may be “cut short in righteousness.” Rom. 9: 28.